Printed Circuit Board Technology

Thru-Hole Technology

Through-hole technology (Thru-hole) has been around since the 1950’s. As the name same it refers to a mounting scheme where by holes are drilled through the circuit board and oldered to pads on the other side. This provides a very strong mechanical bond however the drilling process makes the boards more expensive to produce. Initially the solder paths were printed only on one side of the board. In later years both sides of the board were printed. This required the holes to be plated in order for components to make connection with both sides of the board.

Surface Mount Technology

In the late 1980’s Surface Mount Technology (SMT) became the chosen method for circuit board design and construction. Surface mount components were generally smaller and contained flat contacts soldered directly to the surface of the printed circuit board. Larger components such as transformers and components requiring heat sinks are generally still mounted with through hole technology. Components on both sides of the circuit board is much more widely used with Surface Mount Technology.

Surface Mount Assemblies

At Certified Manufacturing our fully ESD Compliant work center is ready to build. The benefits of CMI’s SMT assembly capabilities are as follows: